缥

縹

piāo / piǎo

adjective #70,160

Meanings

1 (in 缥缈) dim and indistinct; misty

Characters

缥

piāo

(in 缥缈) misty; indistinct

Examples

HSK 7-9

山雾中的亭子显得虚无缥缈。

Shānwù zhōng de tíngzi xiǎnde xūwú piāomiǎo.

The pavilion looked dim and unreal in the mountain mist.

HSK 7-9

远处传来隐约缥缈的乐声。

Yuǎnchù chuánlái yǐnyuē piāomiǎo de yuèshēng.

Faint music drifted from afar, hazy and indistinct.

Tips

usage

Read 缥 in 缥缈 (also written 缥渺) - dim, faint, seemingly there and not there. A separate reading piǎo means 'light blue (silk)'.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread

Left 纟 is the silk radical 糸 in left-side form. The character originally named a pale silk; in 缥缈 it borrows that wispy, gauzy quality for 'faint and indistinct'.

phonetic

票 piào

ticket; phonetic

Right 票 supplies the sound (piào drifting to piāo). The same phonetic anchors 飘 (to float) and 漂 (to drift).

Stroke Order

缥 piāo

缥